It’s a year later, but are we any safer?

While the anniversary of Sept. 11 is sparking great reflection and

massive amounts of news coverage this week, the origin for the Daily

Pilot’s main stories today can be traced back to last May.

That’s when 10 Chinese immigrants were dropped off naked somewhere

near the El Morro Mobile Home park in the dead of night.

They floated ashore at Crystal Cove with life jackets and buoys

and rafts and a set of dry clothes to change into. They would have

gotten away clean were it not for the alertness of teenage girls up

late for a slumber party at El Morro.

Think about that. A band of men in the dead of night landing on

local shores, unbeknownst to any of us. Incredible right? Especially

after what we had just experienced on Sept. 11.

And then came this chilling line from our harbor columnist Mike

Whitehead a few day later:

“In closing, if the 10 Chinese illegal immigrants that were caught

after swimming ashore at Crystal Cove had simply disembarked at high

noon at a dock in Newport Harbor under the guise of a private boat

cruise, would anyone have noticed?”

And I had more questions.

What if they were Al Qaeda terrorists, or some other group with

nothing but harmful intents? And are local officials still performing

business as usual when it comes to our safety?

So I asked my news staff to see if they could answer Whitehead’s

and my questions.

I’m not sure that we have.

Today, we launch four days worth of coverage surrounding the

anniversary of Sept. 11. called One Year Later: Newport-Mesa

Reflects.

In the next few days, we will learn how public safety, emergency,

airport and health officials are prepared to handle a potential

terrorist attack, how life has changed for all of us from

grade-school teachers to firemen and, on Wednesday, we’ll celebrate

along with the rest of the nation the deep unity we now feel.

But are we safer?

Today, we begin by asking and trying to answer that tough

question.

To be sure, the agencies charged with protecting the beaches and

harbors -- the Coast Guard, the Harbor Patrol, the police and the

lifeguards -- have certainly stepped up their awareness.

But for those readers who sleep easy at night because they believe

the Coast Guard or the military is patrolling our shores to make sure

we are safe, I hate to break this news to you, but that is an

impossible task.

Not only that, but much like the days before the Sept. 11 attacks

were seared into our memory banks, it seems the attitude that we

really are not at risk -- that terrorism can’t happen here -- has

become as pervasive as ever.

Take for example an exchange between my reporters and security

officials a few months back when we learned that a terrorist alert

had been issued for the nation’s ports and harbors.

The alert, issued on a slow Sunday afternoon, was broadcast on

local news stations and carried by other media outlets.

When we called our local agencies to see what measures they were

taking in light of the terrorist alert, they didn’t know what we were

talking about.

I know, I know, most of you are thinking it’s not very likely that

terrorists will strike Newport Harbor. That it’s not likely that

Osama bin Laden’s forces are poised to land at Crystal Cove.

And you’d probably be right.

But then again, how many of us thought it likely that terrorists

would use airplanes to demolish the World Trade Center towers and

take a chunk out of the Pentagon and drive a knife of terror through

all of our hearts?

So instead of playing a dangerous false-sense-of-security game, we

will continue to ask those questions, continue to find out from our

security officials if they are on a heightened sense of alert.

Because just like everything else that changed that fateful

September morning, the truth is, never again can we utter the words:

“It can’t happen here.”

* TONY DODERO is the editor. He can be reached at 949-574-4258 or

via e-mail at tony.dodero@latimes.com.